Cattle guard



Mqrch 24. 1925. 1,531,232

D. R. CAMERON CATTLE GUARD 2 Filed Feb. 2, 1924 Imam 10g of the crossing5 AUNITE'DQSTFAJTES PATENT OFFICE.

' DANIEL ROBERT CAI/xenon,

orvANconvER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA.

I I ATTLE GUARD.

' Application f led February 2 1924. Serial No. 690,204.

To all (U/2.01M it may concern- Be it known that I, DAnmL RonnnrCAMERON, a subject of the King. of. Great Britain, anda resident of thecity of Van: couver, in the Province of British Columbia,

Canada, have inventedcertain new and'use ful llinai'oveinents in CattleGuards, of

which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements 1n cattle guards, and the object ofmy invention is to devise a simply constructed and maintained, guard ofgreat cheapness and durability which is of the highest efiiciency inkeeping cattle ofi railway tracks so that their loss through killing bytrains is prevented.

I attain this ob ectby the constructlon illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings in which- Fig. 1 is a plan view of a middle section of theguard, in perspective.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view of the movable platform element.

Fig. 3 is a bottom'plan view of a platform.

Fig.4 is aview in side elevation illustrating the operation of themovable plat-' form. c

a Fig. 5 1s a. plan VlGW of the complet-e guard, in place.

Similar numerals of reference lndicate similar parts throughout theseveral views. 1

The cattle guard arrangement herein described consists v of two sets ofcomplete guards, as shown in Fig. 5, one set, comprising the threesections 1, 2 and 3, being placed across the track 4: on one side andthe other set, comprising the three sections 6, 7, and 8 beingplaced onthe opposite side of the crossing. The side sections 1-3 and 6-8 aredisposed outside the rails and between them form is, for the sakeofcheapness, prefand the respective embankments 9 and 10. while the middlesections 27 are placed between the rails, and as all the sections are ofthe same construction one middle sec tion only, 2 in Fig. andillustratedmore particularly in Fig. 1,.will be described, its detaileddescriptiomhowever, applying with equal force to the remaining sections.A

The middle section 2,then, consists ofa plurality of stationaryplatforms 11 and a tiltable one 12, the tiltable-platform being arrangednearest the crossing and thestationary ones spacedtherefrom. Eachplaterably formedout of a number of pieces of in Figs. 2 and 3, so thatall the platforms,

both thetiltable one and the stationary ones, are characterized by greatslipperiness.

The stationary platforms 11 are secured to the edges of the railway ties17 at a steep inclination and parallel to one another, the ties beingbevelled as at 18 to permit the platforms to be secured solidly thereto,and each platform extends at its lower edge close to the track bed 19while at its upper edge it extends to within a short distance from thelevel of the top of the rails. The width of each platform is such thatwhen in place the upper edge of one platform overlaps the lower edge ofthe one next to it. The tiltable platform 12 is provided at each endwith eyes 20 and 21 so that it may be connected freely to its respectivetie by spikes 22, or other suitable means, driven through the eyes intothe tie, and at the edge nearest the crossing it is provided with acounterweight 23 formed by raising the metal covering into a formsubstantially triangular in cross section asat 24; and filling the spacewithin the raised part with cement, as indicated by the numeral 25, theweight of which is sufficient to return the platform to a normalhorizontal position from a tilted one when freed from any weightthereon, tilting it. The dimensions of the counterweight are such thatwhen tilted it does not project above the level of the top of the rails.The edge of the tiltable platform nearest the crossing and the upperedges of the two adjacent stationary ones are provided with a pluralityof spikes 26, as shownin Figs. 1 and 4-.

The manner in which the device operates audits utility will be readilyapparent, on reference being had to the drawings and particularly toFig. 4;, as already stated the complete guard is placed across the trackon oppositesides of thecrossing so that the entrance to'the track oneither side is guarded by first the normally horizontal tiltableplatforms and then the normally inclined stationary ones. Thus, a cowapproaching Inediately tilts so that the foot ofithe aniinal slidesdownwardly on the slippery platform surface and in striving to recoverfooting the advanced leg contacts With the spikes of the inclinedplatform 11 while the leg outside the tilted platform contacts with thespikes on its upper edge so that the combined effect of the tiltingplatform and the spikes turns the animal away, and balksits endeavonrsto cross the guard:- Should it succeed in passing the til'ta'ble' oneand step on' the next inclinedflone the same effect is produced as thefeet slide down the polished inclined surface Whilethe' spikes prick itslegs so that its circles are then-directed to: Wards returning t-o thecrossing whence it came. r r I H Itwill be" seen therefore that 13 havedevised a si'1'nple inexpensive, and ellicient cattle gear-d capable ofbeing" used to great advantage for the protection of cattle against thedangers of straying on railway tlilC-KS. h'afifI claim as; my inventionis i- A-cattle guard comprising a plurality of spaced inclinedstationary platforms adaptedto extend acrossa railway track and anormally horizontal tiltable platform in front of the stationary ones,the inclined platforms and the horizontal one when tiltedextending attheir lower edges to the track hedge-1rd at their upper edges not e'X-rtenjding abovetlie rail level.

Dated at Vancouver, 13: 0. this 9th day of lanuary 1924:; i

DANIEL ROBERT CAMERON.

